Santiago Ridge Reserve

Wine: Santiago Ridge Reserve.

Grapes: Cabernet sauvignon (85 percent), merlot (15 percent)

Region: Curico Valley, Chile

Vintage: 2010

Price: $4.99

In the glass: Santiago Ridge is deeply purplish-red in color with a semi-opaque core full of violet streaks going out into a fine crimson rim definition with medium-high viscosity.

On the nose: It exudes layers of ripe, crushed black fruit with dominance by blackberry and boysenberry, followed by creme de cassis, black currant foliage, vanillin from oak, caramel, minerals and phenolics.

On the palate: It is a good “chewy” (dense) wine with a delicious attack of black currants, wild cherries, loganberries and soft, sweetish blueberry notes going into a nicely balanced midpalate that shows good character in this wine. The finish is very present and pungent, lingering for a good bit with lovely delineation of black fruits, supple tannins and hints of concord grapes and grapey minerals on the end.

Odds and ends: This is another wine in a long series of low-price champions coming out of Chile. At less than $5, one cannot but wonder how they do it. In any case, we are blessed to be able to find such a tasty wine and should take full advantage of it. Santiago Ridge is a generic brand name for a range of wines from one of the large wine producers, but as I always say about Chile: Cabernet is king! This is no exception as the majority of the wine is made up of well-balanced cabernet sauvignon, plus merlot. It is a wine that, despite its youth, is supremely drinkable and should be for another three to four years. Try it with a grilled hamburger.

Gil Lempert-Schwarz’s wine column appears Wednesdays. Write him at P.O. Box 50749, Henderson, NV 89106-0749, or e-mail him at gil@winevegas.com.